The Day of Reclamation
by Sabre Allicia
Summary: When a White Fang protest goes out of control, a young Blake is left stranded is a city she does not know, against people whom she cannot hope to fight. When she is saved by another mysterious member of the organisation, it soon becomes clear to her that the White Fang is no longer the peaceful organisation she had thought she joined.
1. Chapter 1

**The Cat and the Canine**

**The day of reclamation**

A Resonant-Ellipsis production

Written by Sabre Allicia

* * *

For the benefit for those who do not watch the show:

Faunus: Human/Animal hybrids, they primarily have human features, but with distinctive animal ones, such as ears, horns or tails in addition to their mostly human form. Faunus have faced extreme discrimination at the hands of the rest of humanity for their difference, even leading to a war. This story takes place a few years after a peace treaty was signed. Humanity promised equality for the Faunus, a promise they have since fell short on.

Aura: A physical/metaphysical manifestation of the soul. The full properties of which have not been fully explored in cannon, I have filled this with my own interpretations.

Blake: IS TOTALLY A GIRLS NAME

_This story takes place 5 years prior to those events portrayed in Volume 1_

* * *

There was something different about the crowd this morning.

There was a lot more tension amongst everyone, she could see it, like a coiled spring ready to be released, maybe it was just the people here. It was also like everyone on edge, like they were expecting something to happen. Even the nearby police officers, likely sent to contain any situation that may arise, seemed a lot more aggressive than she was used to. Blake hadn't even known there would be a protest today.

Early that morning she had seen a group of Faunus walking in the same direction, one of whom had been carrying a large crate, emblazoned upon which was the organization insignia. She had approached them and asked what was happening and they had told her there was something happening at the town square. And there she was, standing in the middle of a square in a city that she didn't know, amongst a crowd of expectant Faunus, expectant for what however, she did not know. She assumed the sudden resignation of the organisations now previous leader had something to do with it. She looked up at the ominous grey sky, it looked like it was about to rain, which might explain why a large amount of people were wearing large coats. Blake started pondering the idea of leaving to get her own.

She hated water. But if she left, she might miss the start of the rally, and the fact that everyone was growing even more expectant and on edge, told her that whatever was happening, was going to happen soon.

Not long after finishing that train of thought, two things happened at once.

Rain, begun to pour from the sky, its intensity increasing slowly as time progressed, while a man, to whom of which she had only seen once before, stood up upon the plinth of the squares statue. As he stood, a hush fell over the gathered Faunus, as if someone had cast a veil across the town square.

"Brothers; Sisters; My fellow Faunus of the White Fang. I only have two questions for you all, just two. Why are you here? We suffer and struggle throughout our lives, each and every one of us cast down by the society of man and its wish for our separation, segregation and subjugation. There is, I believe, not a single Faunus in existence that can claim that they are equal. That is why you are here is it not? To show your displeasure towards the current state and stature of society. Well, I have this to say. Negotiations have ended. Despite all we have been promised, the society of man has failed to deliver. That is not to say there are not those within that society who would not sympathize with us, to aid us in times of need, and I openly applaud those people, for standing against convention and expectations. However, a few branches do not save a dying tree.

This system is beyond repair and redemption. The society is faulted. Their Mentality is dated.

For is it not your right as a person to be equal? As a resident of this world to be treated fair? As a member of society to be respected? But no, the society of man maintains its disposition, it refuses to grant us what we, as individuals, have rightly earned. They sit, on their hierarchical thrones, continuing to treat us as outcasts, down casts of their own delusions. Man still believes us to be lesser beings, subject to their discretion while we fight for our lives in this urban jungle they call civilisation.

It is therefore I hereby claim, by the power vested in me as the leader of the White Fang Organisation that we will no longer participate in any protests or demonstrations.

But rest assured; this is not our surrender.

For it has become clear to me, that if the society of man will not listen to our pleas, we must do what is right, and what is within our right to do. We must show to them that we are not simple feral, not to be cast aside and forgotten like idle trash. That we will return to fight another day.

It is clear, that the society of man is incapable of acceptance to that of which is different or diverse. It is in their nature to stay with that which is familiar, what they perceive to be safe.

If the society of man does not listen to reason and logic, then we must show them force."

He held up a detonator in his hand

"I now only have one question for all of you.

Will you reclaim your destiny?"

Anger swelled inside Blake, she could feel the adrenalin coursing through her. She could tell it was running through the entire crowd, the energy emanating was almost electric. The mas was right, they had left them no choice. For the sake of everyone who had suffered as a result of their ignorance, Blake promised herself she would do what she could. Whatever it took to make a difference.

It was like someone awoke a great beast, everyone moved at once. The detonator was triggered and bombs, evidently placed within support columns earlier, detonated upon the foundations of the town courthouse, levelling it to the ground.

The screams, shouts and howls of rage of the now violent crowd were deafening.

Boxes which Blake had seen people carrying, sitting and standing on, which she had assumed were there to give their owners elevation in the protest, were broken open and its contents passed around. Fire bombs and Molotov cocktails along with firearms and kinetic blades. The coats, that she had seen everyone wearing, were cast aside as weapons ranging from swords and brutal looking bats to shotguns and other lethal looking weapons were drawn. The now mob of people, expanded violently, the nearby police officers were overwhelmed and beset on almost immediately. Explosions rocked the ground, the noise of which, continued to be deafening, the shouts and cries of people mixed with the sounds of smashing glass and burning cinders.

Blake simply stood there stunned. Until now, all of their protests and demonstrations had been peaceful, not a single fight had broken out. She looked around her, at all the shops that now stood burning, at the shards of glass that now littered the ground. She had no idea what to do, when the police finally sent reinforcements to crack down as the undoubtedly would, they would be the ones being overwhelmed, and they would disperse. But there would be repercussions, she wasn't stupid and she knew what would happen next. The police would go door to door, seeking out any Faunus unfortunate enough to be found, and trial them without mercy. The police didn't hold a history of treating Faunus in the kindest of lights, and Blake knew, after today, it was only going to get worse. She had been present at every past rally, protest and boycott, and although she doubted that the she would draw the authorities attention, after today, as she looked around at the now destroyed square, at the people openly fighting police officers in the streets, and as in turn, no side showed any mercy; there would be blood for this.

And she had no real place to wait it out. She had to get out of here fast, the point that she had never missed a single meeting or left any rally until the last possible moment was in no way worth getting beaten senseless by a guard or officer.

As she begun to move, she turned and saw the only addition to the square since the crowd's arrival. A large blue flag had been tied to the top of the squares statue. On it, was the White fang symbol, but behind that, were three scratch lines painted in blood red. Against her better judgement, her curiosity got the better of her and she slowly approached it, on the base of the plinth, written in the same red, was only one sentence.

'IT HAS ONLY JUST BEGUN'

Her heart sank, she had hoped, though deep down, she knew it not to be true, that this was a one off event, that their demonstrations, although they would be treated a lot more worse after this, would return to being peaceful, that it was just people frustrated and venting their anger. But now, it would seem there was now a new agenda for the organisation.

She didn't know what to think, then the voice in her head simply said.

"Don't think, just run."

And she did just that, she had no intention of being arrested in a strange city, so she ran from the square as fast as she could. But as she rounded the corner of a street, a line of guards had already been deployed at the other end, she veered off to the side and into an alleyway and came face to face with a police officer, weapon in hand, and an unconscious Faunus at his feet, blood slowly dripping from their head. He turned to her and started to advance. She had learnt how to fight to deal with anyone who had decided to bully her, but he had never fought a fully grown adult.

As he charged her, he swung, she went low, ducking just under the officer's fist, she shot back up and violently punched the officer in the ribs that caused them to falter and allowing her to land another blow to their gut. The officer stepped back and launched a powerful kick but Blake just evaded to side, she grabbed the officer's leg and shoved them backwards, causing them to fall and smack their head violently on the ground. She didn't even look back to see if they were still conscious, she just ran. Hopefully, from here, all she had to do was stick to the side alleys and try to make her way out of the city centre, to more of an outlying area, where she would draw less attention and where she could consolidate her thoughts and assess her situation properly, after which she could"

A completely merciless voice reached her ear. It laughed and slammed her head against the wall again.

Her head felt like it was going to split open from pain, and the world ground felt like it had been tipped upside down about 20 times.

This wasn't going to end well!"

She heard her captor grunt as they let go of her, causing her to again fall back to the ground. Her vision was bad and she was too disoriented comprehend what little she could see, but from what she could hear, fighting was going on between whoever had knocked her down, and her would-be saviour, who, from what she could tell, he sounded little older than she was.

She looked up at the sky, trying to get the rain to wash away some of the blood on her face and as she looked back down, she started to make out the general outlines of the two combatants, one, whom she assumed was her saviour, didn't look more than 15, but he moved fast, from what she could make out as she lay soaking on the ground, was that he was using some form of metal staff, whether or not it was his, she was unsure but he used to shockingly good effect. He moved fast, he didn't appear to be using a semblance, but he was still able to move as a blur to her, continually attacking the guard without falter, he wasn't going to give them a chance to fight back. Her vision began to haze with blood again but she continued to hear continuous blunt impacts and grunts of pain from her attacker.

The sound of them getting beaten gave her a little satisfaction as she tried to move, felt a sharp jolt of pain go through the side of her head, and return to her previous position.

"..You son of a"

Well at least she was right about something.

"...must have heard you coming, probably didn't appreciate you taking out his friend. I don't know if you know this, but you knocked him out cold, smashed his head against the ground hard"

He gently tilted her head back, so he could see her injuries.

"...from what I can tell, your left eye is just swollen, that guard hit you from the side and the pipe must have connected with your forehead, that's where all the blood is coming from, the cut itself luckily isn't that bad, it just wouldn't stop bleeding. We have to get you out of the rain to let the blood clot"

He was going to leave her here.

As he turned to look at her again, and despite her physical injuries. She still gave him the most offended look possible.

He looked blankly back at her, at a loss to what to say

"...look, I'm sorry, but as per orders, I'm not allowed to show or tell anyone where I stay..."

Orders? Whose orders? Now Blake's curiosity peaked, who was this guy?

She however, continued to glare at him.

"...listen, you shouldn't even be here, this isn't your fight"

She almost shouted at him through her disorientation and pain, "what are you saying, I'm one of you, this is my fight!"

He sighed again, "Not anymore it isn't"

Blake felt a degree of satisfaction as they continued to walk.

After a while, her rescuer finally said something

"...you know, you should really learn to fight someone more quietly, even I could hear you from the other side of the alley"

She pondered this for a moment, and despite her finding some sense in the statement, she still glared at him.

They maintained an air of silence for the duration of the journey.

However, as they continued, her condition began to worsen, she started to slip in and out of consciousness.

"You really need to rest, but we really need to get out of here soon. I'm sorry, but you'll just have to hold on…"

"...don't worry…"

Blake's voice was barely louder than a whisper

"...I'll can make it…"


	2. Chapter 2

She felt warmth, from what she didn't know. Every part of her ached, she felt like she could lie here forever.

Lie…

She was lying down.

But she remembered standing…

She opened her eyes and immediately closed them, there was something bright in front of her which she assumed to also be the source of the warmth.

She opened her eyes again, slowly this time.

A fire.

Well at least she could see now.

"Good, you're alive"

Blake slowly turned her head around to see the boy who just saved her

She could actually see what he looked like now

He didn't look old at all, probably 14 or 15, which might explain why he wasn't that much tall either

His equipment was oriental styled, and judging by his skin tone and facial structure, she guessed he was also of the same origin, his voice however, sounded typical of someone from this region, she guessed that he had been away from this home region for a while.

His hair was pitch black, about as dark as her own, it wasn't long, she had seen boys with longer hair before, but it could hardly be considered short either. Atop his head, sat two wolf ears, the same shade of black as his hair. He was thin, but not muscular either but still maintaining the sense of being reasonably built.

He wasn't wearing the coat he had on when he had saved her and she wondered where it was, he only wore a damp, simple two tone dark grey and black shirt, with only the lining of the collar and the sleeves being black, he also wore a casual pair of dark coloured cargo pants and some pretty sturdy looking work boots.

She soon found out why, as she started to look around at her surroundings as her strength found her again, she soon realised that she was lying in what appeared to be some kind of blacksmith's forge. It was dark, the only source of light being the fire adjacent to her. A table lay to one side of the room, littered across it were drawings and plans of multiple things, what they were however, Blake could not discern at this distance. The majority of the room was taken up by various complex looking pieces of equipment, the most simple of which Blake was able to safely assume to be a forge and an anvil. The whole place smelt like a combination of metal, burnt wood and charcoal.

She turned back to face him, he simply stood near her, leaning against one of the buildings support girders build into the wall. His facial expression was, from what she could tell, a mix between relief, curiosity and humour.

They looked at each other for a moment, each sizing up the other

"Well, given the fact you now know where I live, I believe it only fair that I know who you are.

So, what do i call you?"

She hesitated for a moment "Blake…, Blake Belladonna…"

He smiled at her and bowed a little. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance Miss Belladonna"

She frowned slightly, she wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic or not. After a while however, she returned the smile. "...so, what's your name…?"

"Raven" he said bluntly.

She paused for a moment "That's not your real name is it…"

He smiled a little again "What do you mean?"

"Well, you're a wolf, and a Raven is a bird so…"

He smiled more and laughed "What an astute observation Miss Belladonna, I indeed, do not possess wings.

You are right however, Raven isn't my real name. It's a name given to me by my superiors."

He laughed a little to himself

"Because of my hair colour actually. In time, you might come to learn my real name, but until then, you can just call me Raven."

"...Raven it is then…" Blake thought to herself.

"So…, what is this place?"

"This." he smiled to himself as he turned to face the rest of the room "...is my humble abode."

"You live here?"

"Yup"

"But…" She looked around the large room "There's nothing here, it's just a forge"

Raven pointed to a spot shrouded in shade slightly behind her

She looked and saw a pillow on the floor in the dark

"...that's it…"

He gave her a questioning look

"I sleep there, and I work…"

He pointed at the forge

"…There. It's not much, but it's not like I need anything else"

Blake pondered this for a moment but as she moved to sit up, she realised she was wrapped in something. It was his coat, the one he had been wearing when he saved her.

"So this is where it was..." she thought to herself.

He must have wrapped her in it when he brought her here. It was light, but dense, she had no idea what kind of material it as made from but she had a suspicion that the black material hadn't been dyed. But it wasn't waterproof, they must have been soaked by the time they got here, and judging by the fact the coat, and her own clothes were only partially damp, she must have been in front of that fire for a few hours at minimum.

"Listen, we need to get you out of those wet clothes. Don't want you getting a cold"

It was hard to say that without sounding exceptionally creepy, but he did his best.

He crouched in front of her again and gently moved her head into the firelight and checked her head again.

She looked into his eyes. They were the colour of ash.

A moment later he stepped back and held his hand out.

"Can you move?"

She nodded slowly and accepted his outstretched hand.

After she stood up, Raven moved off and started getting his gear, the staff she had seen him use, was strapped to his back, a black gauntlet encasing his left arm.

She handed him back his coat, which he graciously accepted and donned.

It fit him well, its length ran just short of his entire height.

"Where are you staying?"

She looked at him and didn't say anything.

He looked at her again.

"Where's the rest of you stuff?"

She simply shook her head. "I've only been here for two days, and the little I had I didn't bring with me..." She looked down at herself and back up again. "...this is all I own."

He slowly turned around. "...seriously…?" he said in an unbelieving voice.

Blake hung her head slightly.

Raven sighed. "Great, so we both don't have anything..."

She gave him a quizzical look as he scratched the back of his head, a guilty look on his head as he thought for a moment "...right, get ready to move, we're going out."

"...where are we going?"

"Well, seeing as we are practically and literally have nothing but the clothes on our backs and we desperately need food and supplies, I thought I would go and...Requisition some things."

Blake gave him an incredulous look.

"Hey, if it were up to me, you'd stay here, however, I'm not leaving you alone inside an entire room full of sensitive equipment and documents. Plus, you already know way too much, you're a target now"

He drew his staff from his back and checked it. On his back, it was barely half a meter long, but after it expanded and a brutal speed, it was nearly triple that.

"That being said, after what happened today, I think it would be best if we hid our ears"

How bluntly he said that took Blake aback.

She had secretly always wanted to be normal, not a freak started at and mocked by everyone, but she had never wanted to compromise who she was, someone special had taught her that.

Raven held a black ribbon in his outstretched hand

"It's a composite nano-fibred impact resistant tether."

She gave him a look.

He sighed.

"Turn around…"

She gave him another look and slowly did what he said.

She felt him tying the ribbon around her ears. She hated people touching her ears, but she was more curious to what he was doing.

Once he was done, he stepped back and gave a satisfied look.

Then he frowned, stepped back towards her, tilted whatever he had done slightly, stepped back and walked off across the room and grabbed a large broadsword from a table

"...Riverglade…" he muttered to himself.

She gave him another questioning look.

He looked at her. "Oh, I give a name to everything I make, it helps me tell them apart"

"How can you tell?"

"I can feel it."

"How.."

"Uh uh, can't tell you my trade secrets now can I? Anyway I don't have any mirrors, so this will have to do."

He held the wide, near-chrome blade out in front of him, at her eye level, she looked into the polished blade into the reflection that shared her face. He had tied the ribbon into a black bow, perfectly covering her ears.

At first she didn't believe it was her, not until she twitched her ears and the reflections bow twitched in return did she realise what he had done.

She could finally walk around, hidden in plain sight.

All because of a little black bow.

The reflection lowered as he placed the sword back to the table while also grabbing something else from it.

She laughed a little when he put it on.

It was a fedora.

This time he gave her a look.

She still couldn't stop laughing.

He sighed.

"Well at least you're smiling. Come on…"

He walked over to one end of the room and lifted a large metal brace out of the way, at the same time he picked up a sword sheath from beside the door.

"...Exclusion…" he muttered to himself again

He drew the sword and swung it a few times, seemingly satisfied as he attached the sheath to his belt.

Blake realised something

"Don't I get a weapon?"

Again he replied bluntly

"Your bow..."

"...seriously…" She was completely lost

"What does it do?"

She started curiously patting the bow on the head

"Aside from being a very strong ribbon, it lengthens if you channel your aura through it"

She just looked at him

"And what's that supposed to do in a fight"

He simply smiled again

"I have no idea, but seriously, you think I'm just going to give you one of my weapons, I barely know anything about you aside from you name"

She hated to admit it, but she saw sense in that, if it were her, she'd have probably left him back at the tunnel.

He grunted a little as he slid the door open.

It looked heavy.

As she stepped outside, a large drop of water hit her right between the ears. She shook her head violently and looked disapprovingly up at the roof. Then she looked out over her surroundings.

Raven's forge was situated on a pier, the length of the building ran the width of the pier itself. This would be a great place to be if the weather was nice. She looked up at the sky. It was still lightly raining and the rest of the city sat in a light layer of mist and fog, shrouding the now afternoon sky.

She took a deep breath, she smelt the fresh sea air.

She felt hungry...

Raven ruffled her head and ears and she flinched and immediately gave him a death glare.

He just grinned back

"You going to just stand there? We are in a hurry." He flipped his coats collar up and lowered his hat as he started walking down the length of the Pier.

Blake stood there for a moment, then begun to walk after him.


	3. Chapter 3

They continued walking, into a part of the city far from the earlier events, even so, at times Blake could still see small columns of smoke rising from above the city skyline.

It's didn't take long for them to reach what seemed like their destination, a small shop on the corner on a completely insignificant street.

He calmly walked through the door, she slowly followed him, not knowing what to expect.

Raven walked up to the counter attendant, Blake looked around, the shop wasn't brightly lit, but well enough to see where you were going, it wasn't every big either.

The cashier slowly looked at Raven. "...good day…"

He tipped his hat slightly

Raven fully took his fedora off and tipped it, smiling "I think it's rather dreadful actually…"

The cashier broke into a grin "Raven, a pleasure as always"

"Likewise man"

The cashier then gave a concerned look "You Shure you should be walking around on the street? I've already gotten Faunus coming in who have just been attacked by the guards, they say there are orders to capture any Faunus on sight, and everyone's a suspect apparently"

Blake stepped out from the corner, she hadn't remembered standing in the shadows, but her voice was a mix between anger and confusion. "But they didn't do anything…"

Raven looked at her "retribution dear, nothing happens without a price"

Blake stopped.

The attendant looked at her "Raven, she's a little too young for your tastes isn't she?"

Raven knew he was only joking, but Blake didn't

"I'll have you know he's actually my brother." She really hoped he knew how to play along. They looked similar enough to just pass as relatives, but...

He thankfully, however, gave no sign that this information was new to him.

"Sister huh? You never mentioned any family Raven.'

The cashier's voice had an air of scepticism about it.

Raven's voice became a touch less warm "Yea, with good reason"

The cashier just gave him a questioning look.

Raven ignored him "You're now the requesting guy for armour and clothing right?"

The cashier hesitated "...um, yea but…"

""Great, then we'll need full access to your inventory, plus place a requisition order"

The cashier stood up. "Ok, ok, ok, hold on; hold on. I can't just let you in and let you take what you want, access is reserved for the commanding members of…"

Raven interrupted him by rapidly drawing his sword from his back and holding the base of the handle out for the cashier to see, on it was embossed the white fang symbol, It was however, different than the one Blake had saw earlier today, the three scratch marks were longer, running diagonally across the width of the hilt, the entirety of which was surrounded by a ring of ornately carved flames.

The Cashier stood there, looking at the symbol of a moment.

"Very well...One moment please…" his voice was slightly more formal and respectful "...just let me get the key."

He turned around and walked into a back room.

"That was a good call."

Blake looked at Raven "What do you mean?"

"You being my sister means that they wouldn't ask too much questions as to why you suddenly appeared and now know a lot of very sensitive information, but that will also make you a target."

Raven's voice was blunt, but Blake saw the truth behind it as well.

"But what if others start asking questions like he did, i doubt they will all be as easy to convince as that guy?"

Raven simply looked at her.

"You know I wasn't lying right? I don't talk about myself to anyone, not the people who i make weapons for, not the people who tell me to make them. That's a very simple basis i work on, you know nothing about me, and it stays like that. White fang doesn't even know my name, everyone in the organisation only knows me as Raven, even you, and i have no intention on enlightening anyone otherwise."

Blake saw some sense in that.

Overall they spent close to an hour in the store, once they had been led into the secret underground segment of the store, they chose appropriate clothes and put them into a bag that Blake ended up carrying as Raven was already carrying all his gear. Raven also ended up picking up a black trench coat he seemed quite partial to.

But once they stepped outside, satisfied with their acquisitions, Blake looked up above her.

Strokes of bright orange and gold streaking over the city skyline of towers and spires, the horizon glowed; azure ambiance beset upon by flaming violet skies.

It was getting late.

And she was getting hungry.

"...hey..."

Raven looked at her "yea?"

"Could we get something to eat on the way back?"

Raven thought for a moment "We really don't want to be out on the street any longer than we have to, can't we just get you a saucer of milk or something…?"

Blake gave him a death glare.

Raven started to laugh "I hope you realise that that face isn't convincing in the slightest, you actually look adorable…" he patted her head again and continued walking.

They walked around looking for a place to eat, Blake pointed out a few restaurants, but Raven continuously stated, that they want to go as soon as possible "...we can eat back at my place, just not out in the open here…"

Eventually they reached a fast food store on the corner of another nameless street. Raven ordered a bowl of noodles and some Peach Iced Tea, he ordered Fish Noodle Soup for her. She gave him a disapproving look as he handed her the bowl, but she was grateful for it nonetheless and ate it happily as they continued to make their way back to Raven's forge.

Blake felt immensely relieved, this entire outing had been largely successful, the had new clothes, he had eaten to her hearts content and was now ready to go back to her temporary home and sleep in front of that fire again.

But their luck ran out.

Blake knew this was too good to be true to go without something going wrong.

Five drunk guards, obviously brought in to bolster the city's defences while they continued their manhunt, stumbled out of the back door of a bar and into a back stone-courtyard; right in their way. Blake knew they must have been sent to gather up any Faunus they found, she guessed they had taken some liberties while on duty.

"Hey there dearie…" one of them slurred at a random woman.

"How about we go and take advantage of these handcuffs I have…"

The woman tried to run but the guard grabbed her arm and tugged her closer.

"And where do you think you're going little lady…?"

Blake looked upon this with disgust, she contemplated any way she could help the poor woman, and she was about to move forward.

But Raven moved faster.

He moved right up to the side of the guard and shoved him harder than looked possible for someone of his size.

"Why don't we stop harassing the lady and go and do what we're paid to do aye?" he sounded confident.

"Oh yea… you telling me how to do my job punk? Why don't I take you sister instead?" The guard stood up and started at Raven who stood his ground.

Blake immediately tensed, her aura ready to propel her in any direction should the need arise.

But Raven continued to stand there, a malicious smile on his face.

"You're looking for any Faunus you find and taking them to be processed right...?"

"Yea? What about my orders kid, you got something to say about it?" the guard nearly yelled at Raven as he smacked his hat off his head, revealing his wolf ears.

The guard immediately clenched his jaw in fury.

"Well. You found one…" Ravens voice was filled with venom as he clenched his gauntlet arm and swung.

Blake saw the outline of it glow a dark but unmistakable purple, as Raven landed a brutal undercut right into the guards gut. Drinking had not done his reactions any favours. The guard was sent flying upwards, crashing back to earth into a brick wall.

His friends stepped back. Protocols be damned. Batons remained sheathed, swords were drawn.

Raven responded in kind, drawing his staff in his left hand and his sword in his right.

One guard rushed him from the side and he deployed his staff into the guard's chest with enough force to send him flying backwards into a dumpster. The other Guards prepared to attack.

"Sis?" Rave said, Blake could hear the malice again

"Yea..." Blake's voice was shaky

"This will only take a bit…"

And he ran at them.


	4. Chapter 4

These men were unlike the Guards Blake had encountered before, sure those ones were rough, and there were no favours to be found towards Faunus. But these guards were out for blood. Intoxication clouded their rationality and judgement, which was both a curse and a blessing.

Their reactions were delayed, which Raven tried to take full advantage of, the downside being their now near invulnerability to feel pain, they advanced without mercy, with no regard for one another, or themselves. They were fixated on killing the young wolf.

Ravens blade slashed through their aura's barriers, slowly withering their defences down, but they continued advancing relentlessly, oblivious to the strikes that drew blood.

And Blake just stood there, she wanted to help, she really did, but there was nothing she could do, she even debated running and hiding, she wasn't use to this level of violence and she hoped Raven would understand…

But the decision was made for her, as one of the guards used a metal pipe and smashed it into Ravens arm. His sword gracefully arched through the air, impaling itself into the ground, far from Ravens reach. He was only left with only his staff and gauntlet.

Blake walked towards the blade. How long it took her to reach it, she was unsure of; time seemed to flux, there were moments where it slowed, at moments like as she saw a knife blade pass through Ravens aura and narrowly miss his throat. And there were time when it moved at an incomprehensible pace, as Raven desperately tried to counter 4 simultaneous strikes. Even her own thoughts seemed to move faster than she could think them.

The hilt of the sword stood at arm level. The blade shone in the amber sunlight that permeated the buildings. The sword stood, protruding from the ground.

Blake reached out to it.

She wrapped her hand around its hilt. It was solid, she tightened her grip and saw her knuckles whiten. It took almost no effort to draw the sword from the ground. She held in in her hand, testing its weight. It was heavy, a lot heavier than the expected, but yet still swift and keen.

She felt her aura begin to pass along its groves, flowing through both blood and metal alike. Raven had obviously made his weapons and armour with the ability to channel aura through. Give what she saw when he charged his gauntlet with that purple glow, she guessed that had been his aura.

Blake snapped back into reality, now was not the time to admire craftsmanship.

Raven was now fighting 3 guards at once, one lay on the ground and the other was still against the wall.

It was then she saw the look in his eyes, something snapped. He had been trying to avoid killing any of them, he had tried to spare them. But they had apparently left him no choice.

At the same time a sword sliced his arm and red blossomed through his shirt, he lashed out.

He directed his staff and propelled it directly into a guard's nose at a blistering speed. The Guard slammed against the ground, blood gushing from his now disfigured nose, his face contorted with rage and blinding pain.

The other guard rushed him, only to find himself impaled by his comrade's sword. He fell to the ground, desperately clutching at the hilt of the piercing sword. Raven ran to him, and propelled the staffs end right into his head, immediately incapacitating him.

The remaining guard cowered, his two comrades lay on the ground, blood pooling around their heads, one still slowly writhing in pain.

He turned and tried to run, but in his drunken stupor, he was way too slow. Raven dashed directly behind him and swept out his feet and while he was still suspended in the air, fired his staff directly into the man's chest, propelling him into the ground with relentless force and causing him to crack the pavement.

Raven smiled to himself.

"Don't move, you Faunus scum, you all deserve to _burn_…"

Raven had taken out three of the guards, and he was pretty sure that one of them was dead, one badly injured, the other one just unconscious. But now one was standing there, across the across the courtyard. Arm outstretched, pistol in hand. Raven knew how the guards categorised their ammunition, and judging by the size and colour of the pistols magazine, along with how the guard held it, he guessed the pistol was loaded with impulse rounds. Rounds used by riot and chaos control, designed to stop people moving at high speed. Even if the shooter was drunk, Raven still didn't stand a chance.

The guard fired once.

Raven narrowly managed to block it with his staff, which fell to pieces.

The guard scowled even more. "Damn you…"

The next shot fired caught Raven in the gauntlet arm. The round didn't penetrate, but the impact nearly blew him off his feet. He knew the next round would probably kill him.

He hoped Blake would be okay.

The guards face fell.

The gun fell from his hand and fired, the round hitting the gutter.

Red blossomed from a silver glint in his chest, pooling through his uniform and beginning to trickle down his legs and onto the damp stone ground.

His chest was soon bright scarlet. His mouth began to trickle with blood.

He staggered around and turned to face Blake.

Her arms still remained outstretched, unbelieving to what she had just done.

The guard's arms grasped weakly at the protruding blade, fruitlessly trying to

Ravens sword lay impaled through the guards chest cavity.

He looked right at her, accusing eyes at the end of their lives.

He tried to say something, a last chance for absolution perhaps? Or a final curse to his killer.

Blake just stood there, staring into the eyes of a dying man, who continued to stare at her, trying to speak, but being drowned out by the blood that rose from his mouth.

Eventually he simply stopped.

His eyes rolled into his head, and his corpse fell to the ground with a thud. Ravens sword still protruding through his back.

Blake just stood there, she looked over to Raven, standing across the courtyard, then at her hands.

She had just killed someone.

She fell to the ground, head in her hands, the man's blood smearing her face, and started to sob.

Suddenly, out of the shadows behind her, the final guard lunged, sword in hand, right towards Blake.

Raven didn't have time to shout anything.

He stamped on the hilt on one of the guards swords, causing it to spin into the air as he reached out and caught it.

As soon as the hilt made contact with his hand, his gauntlet glowed along dust lines etched into its surface, propelling himself towards her. He stepped low and swung the sword up, parrying the blade inches away from Blake's neck, he continued forward and as the blades connected, drew his gauntlet arm back as his gauntlet transformed. Each armoured panel flipped open into a blade like position, leaving only a thin metal lining covering Ravens arm. It glowed a brilliant purple, more intricate dust etching lined the inner layer of the armour, the tips of the blades left a trail of purple as he moved.

Blake only saw the new transformation for a moment, until Raven propelled the gauntlet through the guard's chest.

Blake raised her head from her arms, tears streaming from her face.

Ravens arm had gone clean through the guard's chest, both of them were covered in blood.

Ravens head was bowed.

Blake had no idea what to do, her mind raced, but its thoughts were too incoherent for her to understand.

Raven slowly moved his arm out of the gauntlet, leaving the metal arm in the guard's chest.

Slowly, its metal began to dissolve, breaking into small purple particles only to be carried away by the wind.

The guard's body clattered to the floor.

Blake looked at Raven.

He simply stood there. Blood drenching his entire left side.

Blake just broke down.

She tried to close her eyes, shut away the insane violence that lay before her, but the guard was always there, sword through his chest, staring, accusingly at her. She shouted at him, screamed at him to go away, to leave her be. But he just stood there, blood streaming from the puncture and flowing through her thoughts and mind.

Every time she approached him, he would start to decay, his body decomposing at a frightening pace, but still he clawed at the blade in his chest, looking at her with his now hollow sockets, jaw bone still moving slowly, cursing her. A breeze would carry the dust of the bones away, and the guard would reappear, back to a composed state, further away, and continuing to curse her existence.

"Blake…BLAKE..."

She was looking at the damp ground through tear stricken eyes.

"Hey, HEY… SNAP OUT OF IT…" His voice permeated her delusions.

She fought him, though she did not know why.

She suddenly snapped back to reality.

She was splayed on her knees, on the damp stone ground, Raven crouched beside her, trying to get her to calm down. Her mental imprint flashed before her again. She understood why he had been beset upon by her subconscious self.

"Hey…"

He gripped her shoulders tightly

"You need to calm down, ok? Everything's ok now…"

"OK?" her exasperation had found her voice again "OK? I just KILLED someone…" she threw his arms off her, but stayed slumped on her knees, tears continuing to stream down her face.

Ravens face softened. "It is often in the heat of battle that we show who we truly are.'

Blake gave him her most accusing look "So you're saying I've always been a Murderer?"

Raven smiled "No, I'm saying you've always been a saviour."

He gave her as warm a smile as he could muster.

"Thank you for saving me..."

Her anger melted away, leaving only guilt and confusion.

"Listen…" his voice had a serious tone to it now "I want to say that that is the last person you will ever have to kill, that you can live the rest of your life without blood on your hands. But that is a promise I cannot keep."

A steady stream of tears continued down Blake's face. "I just wish it wasn't like this... that we could just get along with the other people." She looked at Raven with a pleading look on her face, tears streaming, her voice laced with desperation.

"Why do we have to fight? Why can't they just see that we're all the same, we're all people aren't we? We aren't just animals like they say, we bleed the same, we talk the same, why can't we be treated the same…"

Raven smiled sympathetically at her, he wiped away blood off his hand and patted Blake on the head.

"Because they just don't understand… Like the guy said, Society is scared by change, they hate difference. Their society has always been used to treating Faunus like dirt, they don't know any better because it's all they've ever know. We tried to teach them acceptance, but they just could not comprehend something that went against what they see a conventional, it just didn't make sense to them. Some are different, some actually have a shred of decency and reason, and they haven't lost their humanity in their efforts to be human…" Raven trailed off, his voice suddenly sounding distant, like his mind was far off. Blake looked at him, and tilted her head slightly, she was still crying, but her tears came slower, no longer like a torrent from her eyes.

Raven shook his head slightly. "...Some people…"

Moments later he regained his composure. "...It's our job to teach those who refuse to learn that we are equal, and that means people ARE going to get hurt."

Raven looked directly into Blake's watery eyes. "Now you have to make a choice, you can stay, and fight, or you can leave right now, you'd still be a target, but not a priority, stay low for about a year and everyone will forget you were ever involved, I can cover for you, I'll just come up with an excuse and hope it convinces the higher ups. But if you stay, if you choose to fight, I can't promise that that man will be your last kill. Again, I can cover for you, and keep you away from the worst of it, but we're not an army, everyone is expected to do their part."

Blake started to think hard.

Ravens face turned to that of concern. "I'm sorry to ask this now, but if you want to leave, now might be your last chance. Either way, I promise I'll do what I can to look after you."

After a while, she finally spoke again.

"For the sake of everyone who has suffered, I'll do what i can to make things right...no matter the cost." Blake tried to look determined, but mixed emotions caused a more stressed expression.

Raven nodded his head "For the sake of the fallen, we carry on." He smiled at her.

"If that is your choice, so be it." he extended his arm and helped Blake back onto her feet. They began the slow walk back to the forge.

Blake just hoped she had made the right choice. "...Thank you… for everything…"

"What are brothers for?" Raven turned and winked at her "Oh, and by the way, the names Asche."

They finally arrived back to the forge. The rain had resumed its rhythmic falling, and the steady clicking on the roof made Blake feel drowsy.

"I just realised something…" Raven suddenly said "I can't just let my sister go around unarmed..." he went over to the forge itself and began to kindle the blaze.

"On that table over there…" he nodded to a table to Blake's right, the entire surface of which was covered in paper, including the whole of the adjacent portion of the wall. "...there are weapon blueprints for some pretty standard weapons. Take your pick, once you get used to handling a weapon, I'll forge you a more advanced one, for now, stick to the plans ON the table."

Blake felt a rush of excitement, she was unsure if she liked that she felt that, but the eagerly started to sift through the sheets of paper nonetheless.

After a few minutes, she had found absolutely nothing that really appealed to her, sure there were some nice swords, and the idea of using a whip was kind of cool, but nothing really 'spoke' to her. She then started to peruse the plans pinned to the wall, when one caught her eye.

"Tomorrow, I'll introduce you to my friend Adam…" Raven said from over at the forge "...He can get you sorted within the organization. You found a weapon you like yet?"

Blake continued to look at the design, Raven had printed across the blueprint the words. 'CONCEPT'

She looked at the weapons classification name. 'Variant Ballistic Chain Scythe'

Blake grinned. "I want that one!"


	5. Notes from the writer

Hey all ^_^

First of all, I'd like to thank you all for reading my story, hope you enjoyed it!

This was the first part of a multi-part RWBY story I'm working on. So if you enjoyed this one, keep an eye out for the next part.

This is my first Fan-Fic, as such, I'm more than happy to receive any praise or constructive criticism you might have.

Just post a comment on what you thought.

I'd love to hear from you and read your opinions =^~^=

-Sabre Allicia

Up Next= The Winter Princess


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